I recently finished re-reading, after many years, the popular novel “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J.K Rowling. While many people consider this to be a book for a younger audience, I believe that, when you look at it with a more mature, experienced eye, several hidden messages and themes shine through the text. These issues include racism, forced child labor, suicide and bullying, and stereotyping. However, these problems are all dealt with in the same way: coming to the defense of your friends. This is evident in Draco's treatment of Hermione, Filch's punishment for Ron (and Filch's secret), Moaning Myrtle's entire history, and Ernie's reaction to the rumor of Slytherin's heir.
First of all: Racism and forced child labor. The first time this issue is dealt with is at the Quidditch field on page 115. Draco says to Hermione, “No one asked your opinion, you filthy little mudblood.” The term 'mudblood', meaning 'of muggle parents', is used all throughout the book, as Slytherin's heir meant to kill every single mudblood at the school. However, most of its use comes through Draco, who discriminates against people of muggle descent. In retaliation, Ron gets so furious that he attempts to cast a spell on Draco with his broken wand, resulting in it backfiring and him in a purely grotesque state. But, this brings up an important point: That you should always try to stick up for your friends, no matter the consequences. The second time this comes up is on page 121. Ron says to Harry, “Fourteen times he made me buff up that Quidditch cup before he was satisfied.” This is after Ron has to face his punishment with Filch. Filch takes out his shame at not being a wizard on the students, forcing them to do extreme tasks and chores. This is forced labor, and extreme bullying. It gets worse when you realize that Filch is a grown adult, and it's unfair as the students have nothing to do with his issues. However, it also shows that people are so incredibly racist towards squibs (a person of wizard descent with no magical qualities in them whatsoever) that Filch feels the need to hide his identity completely.
Another issue is suicide and bullying. Moaning Myrtle's entire history and ghost-life is made from the bullying she received from her peers. At the ghost party for Nearly Headless Nick, Peeves begins pelting her with food. On page 135 - “Moaning Myrtle burst into anguished sobs and fled from the dungeon.” Although she is mainly played for laughs, what happened to Moaning Myrtle is intensely disturbing. She was bullied mercilessly in her life, made fun of for everything about her, and it ultimately was the cause of her death. Even now, she tries to kill herself from time to time; and it's not because she's “overdramatic” or “an attention seeker”; those qualities exist separately from her despair, though they do exist. It's because she's incredibly DEPRESSED – her proudest moment is when she died. That says something about her character. Unfortunately, she has never had any friend to help stick up for her; you can see the effects that had on her.
The final issue is stereotyping. Once many muggle-descending students have become petrified, several of his classmates think Harry is the heir. On page 199, Ernie says, “Hannah, he's a parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard.” Here, Ernie is stereotyping Harry, saying that doing or being one specific thing determines your entire personality and future because that's the personality and future of the fixed idea people have of this minority (this is clearly untrue, as Harry is the hero of the books). However, Ernie is proven wrong when Hermione gets attacked; he knows that Harry would never hurt one of his best friends. In a way, this is Hermione indirectly coming to his defense. The point of this theme was to prove that, even though you were brought up a certain way or have a certain specialty, it doesn't mean you have to conform to the idea people have of you. This theme spans over the entire series.
In conclusion, this supposed “children's book” actually has some incredibly deep and intellectual hidden messages about racism, forced child labor, suicide & bullying, and stereotyping. Over the course of the next few books, we see this issues brought up again and again, from Draco's inability to be what his father expects to Neville finally standing up for himself. Many people also, without realizing it, try to stereotype this series as “just another children's fantasy saga” (completely forgetting that it is a worldwide phenomenon), when in reality it is one of the most developed and interesting series of all time.
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